Enhancing Digital Folklore Storytelling Book Through Design Elements from 2010-2020
Abstract
This study explores the role of visual design elements in enhancing digital folklore storytelling books in Malaysia between 2010 and 2020. Digital publishing keeps growing among young readers, and illustrations carry much of the weight in telling cultural stories and holding attention. Using Charles Sanders Peirce's semiotic theory, the research examines how line, shape, color, texture, space, value, and form create meaning and shape the reading experience. The study combines visual content analysis of digital book covers with semi-structured interviews with illustrators. Color, shape, and line turned out to be the elements illustrators reached for most, using them to build emotion, symbolism, and cultural relevance. Texture and space added depth and authenticity to the storytelling. Illustrators also talked about the tension between honoring tradition and meeting modern visual expectations. The findings offer illustrators, educators, and publishers a way to think about combining semiotic and design principles in folklore-based digital media, and add to the conversation around visual communication and children's literature. Future research could track how these design elements affect reader engagement and cultural retention across age groups, test how augmented reality and other interactive tools might deepen immersion and learning, and compare design choices across cultures to separate universal strategies from culture-specific ones.
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